"I really don't think money should be an issue. He is 18 and it is going to be one of many contracts he is going to sign and he is going to end up being a wealthy individual.

"The important contract, if you are money-orientated, is the one you sign when you are 31 not 18."

Reports have linked the Reds with a move to re-sign Tom Ince in January, the Blackpool youngster having been sold from Anfield two years previously.

"When I arrived [at Liverpool in November 2010] Tom was at the end of his contract," Comolli continued. "One of the first things I did was meet him and his dad and Paul was concerned the style of play [under Roy Hodgson] was not suited to his son, who was a quick winger.

"When Roy went I think we made four or five contract offers to Tom which he kept turning down. He didn't feel it was the right place for him to stay.

"The last offer would have made him the highest-earning player beneath the first team but to be fair to him I don't think money was the issue.

"We never released him. You don't release a player like this, you can't force him to stay.

"I am very pleased that he is doing well. If they buy him back, good for him and good for Liverpool."